Scotland's Covid pass broke data protection law

Scottish ministers reprimanded after Covid passport scheme broke data law | HeraldScotland - Tom Gordon:

February 25, 2022 - "The UK information watchdog has reprimanded the Scottish Government for launching its Covid vaccine passport despite being warned the app broke data protection law. Ministers also struck an 'unlawful' deal with the firm behind the app to let it use people’s passport pictures to improve its own algorithm despite this being of no benefit to the public. The UK Information Commissioner (ICO) said it was publicising its reprimand of the Government and an NHS quango because of the significant issues involved. The ICO said it now expected the Government and NHS National Services Scotland to fix 'ongoing' problems with the Covid status app or face 'further regulatory action'. 

"Launched last autumn, the app let people prove their vaccination status for mandatory Covid checks for large events and nightclubs. The mandatory scheme is now due to end this Monday, but Nicola Sturgeon said this week that the app will remain operational if any venues still wish to check people. The ICO asked both the Government and its quango to provide adequate privacy information within the app when it launched to explain how people’s information was being used. It said there has also been an ongoing failure to provide concise privacy information so that the average person could realistically understand how the app used their information.

"The ICO said it had ... received the full details of how the Scottish app would work only three days before the scheme was due to go live on September 30 and found 'a number of concerns'.... Its summary of the case said: 'The ICO provided comprehensive feedback on the [app] on 29 September 2021, and advised Scottish Government and NHS NSS to delay the app launch until our most serious concerns were addressed in full. This included revoking permission for the third party’s retention and re-processing of data to train their algorithms. It is important to note that the App would not have been the only way to obtain proof of COVID vaccination.... Delaying the launch of the app would therefore not have prevented the implementation of the Scottish Government’s policy on mandatory COVID certification'....

"On September 30, the Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham met Deputy First Minister John Swinney and stressed the need for the app to meet data protection law. However the app was launched that evening regardless. Although the planned sharing of data, including passport images, with the software firm was suspended prior to launch, other aspects of the app remained 'non-compliant' with the law. That prompted Ms Denham to meet Mr Swinney again and tell him that the ICO had launched a 'formal investigation' into the app’s compliance.

"ICO deputy commissioner Steve Wood said: 'People need to be able to share their data and go about their lives with confidence that their privacy rights will be respected. The law enables responsible data sharing to protect public health. But public trust is key to making that work. When governments brought in Covid status schemes across the UK last year, it was vital that they were upfront with people about how their information was being used. The Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland have failed to do this with the NHS Scotland Covid Status app'....

"After the app launched, the ICO raised concerns about the lack of a privacy notice telling users how their data would be used. This led to a link being added to the NHS Inform website, but it was 'not easily accessible' and ... also complex, 'unneccessarily long and difficult to navigate'. Despite being updated several times, the ICO said this privacy notice remained defective. It has therefore ruled that the app is still failing to comply with the transparency principle set out in UK data protection law.... The Government and NHS NSS must now rectify the privacy notice within 30 days or face enforcement action."

Read more: https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19951936.scottish-ministers-reprimanded-covid-passport-scheme-broke-data-law/

Scotland's gov't fumbles vaccine pass rollout

Nicola Sturgeon is losing her grip as half-baked vaccine passport scheme unravels | The Telegraph - Alan Cochrane:

28 September 28, 2021 - "Question: When is an almost total cave-in a 'pragmatic compromise'? Answer: When it is Nicola Sturgeon displaying her facility for 'newspeak' and on the run over one of her half-baked policies.

"One of the First Minister’s more controversial decisions lately has been to bring in vaccine passports for nightclubs and certain sporting events, without really knowing how to do it properly and, at first, not even being able to define what a nightclub is. She has muddled on for the last couple of weeks in the face of furious opposition from the hospitality industry. But while – and perhaps because – Boris Johnson decided not to proceed with the passport scheme in England, she plans to introduce it in Scotland in the early hours of Friday morning.

"On Tuesday, the Scottish Tories planned another attempt at Holyrood to defeat her by getting a few of the more sensible SNP backbenchers to see the stupidity of their leader’s stubbornness and vote down the passport proposal.... But in the end such a rebellion, however unlikely, wasn’t needed as La Sturgeon threw in the towel all by herself. Yes, the vaccine passport system will still be mandatory in nightclubs from the wee sma’ hours of Friday morning, but in an incredible last minute U-turn she decreed that there will be no enforcement of breaches of the regulations until October 18 - more than two weeks hence.

"So, how will that affect nightclub owners? Will they demand vaccine passports from their patrons from Friday or will they simply shrug and say anything goes until October 18? And will that date still be operable; after all, with Covid cases and hospital numbers falling all the time, La Sturgeon may decide to dump the whole thing while at the same time claiming total victory for her policy. Needless to say, that verdict from her is a given.

"With a degree of bravura that we’ve come to expect from this lady, the First Minister insisted that the delay in enforcement would allow nightclubs to 'test, adapt and build confidence in the practical arrangements they will need to put in place to be compliant with the scheme'.

"Really? I’m bound to conclude that it is extremely difficult to argue with Tory leader Douglas Ross, who described the First Minister’s move as a typical example of her 'last minute chaotic planning', or with Alex Cole Hamilton, the Lib Dem leader, who said the new delay proved that both the Scottish Government and the nightclubs were 'nowhere near ready' to implement the new system.

"Another problem with the First Minister’s general arrangements appears to concern the provision of a Scottish Government app, which is set to contain all the vaccine details required for the passport, but which is only due to be available later this week. This is months after the equivalent app became available for England and Wales, which La Sturgeon refused to be part of, insisting that she wanted a separate provision for Scotland.

"It is to be hoped that it fares better than the current system, whereby Scots are supposed to be able to get paper or digital copies of their vaccine record from NHS Inform. However, as Labour leader Anas Sarwar pointed out, the system failed to show that he’d had both jabs. This omission caused him to be temporarily denied entry to the Labour Party conference in Brighton this week."

Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/09/28/nicola-sturgeon-losing-grip-half-baked-vaccine-passport-scheme/

Scottish church ban unconstitutional, judge rules

Victory for Scottish church leaders as judge rules government acted unconstitutionally when criminalising gathered worship |Christian Concern (press release):

March 24, 2021 - "In an historic judgment, today a judge has ruled that the Scottish Ministers’ decision to ban and criminalise gathered church worship during the current lockdown was unconstitutional and a disproportionate interference of Article 9 ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights].... The ruling is believed to be the first successful legal case against covid regulations in the UK.

"Handing down judgment, Lord Braid also ruled that online worship is not real Christian worship, stating that it is not for the Scottish Ministers to: 'dictate to the petitioners or to the additional party, that, henceforth, or even for the duration of the pandemic, worship is to be conducted on-line. That might be an alternative to worship but it is not worship. At very best for the respondents, in modern parlance, it is worship-lite.'

"Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, 27 Scottish church leaders, from a range of Christian denominations, had brought the legal action stating that the unprecedented closures were unlawful and breached Human Rights law and the Scottish constitution.... Their claim came in response to the restrictions outlined by First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, on Friday 8 January 2021, which made it a criminal offence for churches in the highest tiers, to hold in person services and, for example, to conduct baptisms.

"At a full judicial review hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh earlier in March, the leaders had sought a declarator (a declaration order) that the restrictions on churches were unlawful and a declarator which would allow people to attend church, should the tier system be reintroduced.

"There has been no attempt to close churches in Scotland since the persecution of the Presbyterian church, instituted by the Stuart kings, in the 17th century....

"During the judicial review on the 11 and 12 March, Janys Scott QC, representing the 27 Scottish church leaders, argued that the pandemic had highlighted an 'irreconcilable conflict' for church leaders between obeying the state and God.... 'The Scottish ministers have presented these 27 church leaders and very many more ministers, church elders and ordinary members of congregation with a deep crisis. As Christians their primary obedience is to God and not to the state and there is a fundamental obedience in regular communal public worship.... And to be absolutely clear this is not about buildings — it’s about assembly of congregations; the sacraments of communion and baptism and the ministry between members of a church are integral aspects of expression on what it is to be a Christian and to belong to a Christian church'....

"Scott argued that the closure of churches is unlawful, criminalises public worship and goes against centuries old practice that churches in Scotland have authority over their own affairs free from state interference. She accused John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister of holding a 'condescending and inaccurate' attitude towards public worship, by treating churches as if they are a 'matter of personal welfare or comfort'.... She also said the European Convention on Human Rights did not allow the Scottish Ministers to take the action of stopping public worship.

"'It’s not for the government to question the legitimacy of beliefs or the manner in which they are expressed,' she said. 'The petitioners say that public corporate worship is essential to the church — it is of the essence, of the being of the church and that is a matter for them.'"

Read more: https://christianconcern.com/ccpressreleases/victory-for-scottish-church-leaders-as-judge-rules-government-acted-unconstitutionally-when-criminalising-gathered-worship/

Scottish Libertarian Party runs 8 for Holyrood

Pro-indy Scottish Libertarian party names first Holyrood election candidates | Politics | The National - Kathleen Nutt:

February 23, 2016 - "Scotland's newest pro-independence political party is planning to put forward candidates in all eight regions at May’s Holyrood elections.

"Property businessman Alan Findlay will stand in the west of Scotland for the Scottish Libertarian Party (SLP), while Derek Scott, who works for a sub-sea oil and gas contractor, has been named as its candidate in the north east. Tammy Edgar, a former retail manager and now a student, is their lead candidate for south of Scotland. The party will reveal the names of its candidates for the remaining regions over the coming weeks.

"Scott said his party offers 'a completely different agenda' from the existing mainstream parties.... Scott said the party will campaign against state subsidies to business and state involvement in family life. 'We want to end the scandal of the poor being taxed to increase the profits of private enterprises like T in the Park and Amazon,' he said.

"As well as being pro-independence, the SLP supports low taxation and public spending and low regulation for businesses. It is also strongly in favour of an EU exit.

"It was inspired by the work of US politician Ron Paul, a former Republican congressman and the Libertarian Party nominee in the 1988 US presidential election.

"The SLP is also in favour of the abolition of the Scottish Government’s scheme to give every child in Scotland a named 'guardian' to oversee their welfare.

"It is preparing to publish its manifesto which it says will offer cuts to corporation tax and a raft of promises on reforming criminal justice issues, including the decriminalisation of cannabis use and sex work. The party also supports scrapping Trident.

Findlay, who is the SLP’s leader, said: 'We need to stop punishing people for crimes where there is no victim. When there is no victim, there is no crime. We are the only party that genuinely wants to reduce the tax burden, promote enterprise and reduce welfare dependency. Freedom of speech and association are fundamental to a civilised society.'"

Read more: http://www.thenational.scot/politics/pro-indy-scottish-libertarian-party-names-first-holyrood-election-candidates.14118

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Scottish Libertarian Party launched

New Scottish Libertarian Party set to launch and call for independence | Politics | The National:

December 1, 2015 - "A fresh voice from the centre right will be added to the Yes movement when a new pro-independence political party formally launches later this week.

"The Scottish Libertarian Party (SLP) is led by businessman Alan Finlay and is planning to field candidates in all eight regions at next year’s Holyrood elections.

"As well as being pro-Scottish independence, the party has an agenda supporting further reform of the welfare state, low taxation and public spending and low regulation for businesses. It is also strongly in favour of an EU exit.... Other key policies include the decriminalisation of the use of cannabis, lifting legal restrictions on sex workers and combating the surveillance of individuals by the authorities.

"The party is holding a public launch event on Thursday evening at Strathclyde University when sex worker Charlotte Rose will put the case for decriminalising the sex industry and Dr Stephen Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs will also speak.

"David Craig Ballantine, a Glasgow-based stockbroker and the party’s director of communications, said the SLP stands for the empowerment of the individual and is opposed to a large, centralising state. He denied the party was on the right of the political spectrum....

"'We are not a right-wing party, we cover the full shade of the political spectrum. We do believe in a small state, but we also believe in campaigning for changes in the law on social issues. We are in favour of decriminalising cannabis use, for instance, and are strongly in favour of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.'

"He added: 'The SLP is pro-independence, though we would advocate a very different independence to the pro-EU pseudo independence advocated by the SNP. The current welfare state doesn’t work. Since the early part of the 20th century, the creep of the state has intruded into the lives of those most vulnerable more than any other group....

"'The SLP propose to help the working poor by getting the state out of their lives, by eliminating income tax for the lowest paid, and improving flexibility in spending. The SLP plan to allow all local authorities to set whatever tax policy they wish and allow local authorities who have similar tax policies to combine with other local authorities and work together for tax collection and revenue policy. Local authorities will raise all their required taxation to cover their budget.'

"The party is also in favour of the reintroduction of the right-to-buy to allow those on low incomes to get on to the property ladder."

Read more: http://www.thenational.scot/politics/new-scottish-libertarian-party-set-to-launch-and-call-for-independence.10658
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